This model has two things no other Mac of those years has, one good and one bad. The good: the SSD is a removable module. The bad: it is the flexgate generation.
Flexgate is the backlight going: first a dark band at the bottom of the screen, then the image cutting out past a certain lid angle. iFixit documents it as a design defect.
Apple ran a repair programme. It is closed, and it did not cover this model in 2017. Free diagnostics.
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On flexgate iFixit is blunt: the flex cables fatigue with every open and close, the backlight cable fails first, and you get the «stage light» effect. The point that changes the quote: «Apple designed the cables as part of the display, so they cannot be replaced» — the whole display assembly is replaced.
The Apple backlight programme is closed, with a clarification worth making. Even while active, iFixit documents that it covered only the 2016 13-inch: 2017 models and 15-inch ones were not eligible.
The SSD is the good news, with an asterisk. On this model only, the SSD is a removable module. But iFixit warns: «The proprietary PCIe SSD still isn't a standard drive» — Apple form factor and connector, not M.2 NVMe.
Otherwise it is an Intel laptop with fans and thermal paste. We recommend servicing every 18–24 months.
| Years | 2016 · 2017 |
|---|---|
| Model | A1708 (no Touch Bar) |
| Storage | SSD on a removable module — proprietary Apple PCIe, not standard NVMe |
| Memory | soldered |
| Flexgate | backlight cable part of the display assembly, not replaceable alone |
| Apple backlight programme | ended — and covered only the 2016 13-inch |
| Battery | glued, no pull tabs |
| Cooling | fan + thermal paste |
| iFixit repairability | 2 out of 10 |
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